As his enclosure was being cleaned by staff at a North Carolina wildlife facility on December 30, a lion named Matthai managed to escape from his locked holding pen. Matthai fatally mauled one of those workers, 22-year-old Alexandra Black. She was an animal husbandry intern who had only been on the job for 10 days. […]
Tag: zoos
POLL: Is it time to close our zoos?
In 2014, Marius, a perfectly healthy two-year-old giraffe, was killed and fed to the lions in Copenhagen Zoo. It caused an outcry at the time but, as a new Horizon documentary explains, it made perfect sense – and lifted the lid on something happening in zoos across the world, which they rarely admit to. Every […]
Victory! Buffalo Zoo is Closing its Elephant Exhibit
Animal advocates are celebrating another victory for captive elephants with news that the Buffalo Zoo in New York is finally closing its exhibit. The zoo announced this week that its two Asian elephants, 36-year-old Jothi and 35-year-old Supara, will be headed to the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans this fall, where they’ll be able to […]
How ethical is the elephant ‘sanctuary’ you’re visiting?
“Many parks advertise themselves as sanctuaries but they are not,” says Maria Mossman, founder of non-profit group Action for Elephants UK. “Never go to a park that advertises shows, unnatural behaviour, tricks or painting – and please, never ride an elephant.” Mossman, who has been involved in elephant activism since 2013, and also organises global […]
POLL: Should we continue to keep wildlife in captivity?
Just a few hours before the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans, Louisiana, opened its doors to the public on July 14, a three-year-old jaguar named Valerio — who had been described by the staff as a “big, lovable goofball” — managed to bite through the steel cables on the roof of the “Jaguar Jungle” exhibit. […]
POLL: Should the keeping of big cats as pets be banned?
When a Florida private school featured a caged tiger at prom this year, animal rights advocates were aghast. The tiger paced nervously as fire dancers juggled torches outside his cage, surrounded by sparklers and hundreds of Christopher Columbus High School students. “This tiger’s not celebrating. This tiger’s not having a party,” Zoo Miami’s Ron Magill […]
POLL: Should “petting zoos” displaying wild animals be closed down?
When you visit a petting zoo– or any facility that claims to promote conservation education — you expect that the animals will be well cared for and live long, happy lives. But, sadly, this is not always the case. Animal rights groups say that the animals at Fur-Ever Wild in Lakeville, Minnesota — including cougars, […]
POLL: Should the export of young elephants to Chinese zoos be banned?
After being taken from her family and the only life she’s ever known, a young female elephant estimated to be just five years old is loaded onto a truck, while men repeatedly kick her in the head, hit her and pull her by a rope as they try to get her to move back. Her […]
